NW Arkansas Town Voting On Anti-Discrimination Ordinance

Same-sex couples lined up on May 10, 2014 in Eureka Springs to get marriage licenses.

Credit Jacqueline Froelich / KUAF

A northwest Arkansas town known both for a 66-foot-tall Jesus statue and as a gay-friendly tourist destination is voting whether to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

Eureka Springs voters are casting ballots Tuesday on whether to keep the expanded anti-discrimination protections adopted in February by the city council.

Keeping the measure could prompt a broader legal fight over a state law taking effect later this year aimed at preventing such local protections. Officials in Little Rock and Hot Springs have approved more scaled-back anti-discrimination ordinances that only apply to the cities and their vendors.

The proposal is highlighting the dual personalities of the town of roughly 2,000 people, which was the first city in Arkansas to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples last year.

The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals has deferred arguments and a decision on four same-sex marriage cases until the U.S. Supreme Court rules on the issue.

The court announced Wednesday that it's holding off on "any further consideration" of the cases from South Dakota, Arkansas, Missouri and Nebraska. Arguments were scheduled to begin on May 12 in Omaha, Nebraska.

All four states are appealing federal judges' decisions to overturn gay marriage bans.

The Supreme Court began hearing arguments Tuesday and could decide by June whether gay couples can marry nationwide.

Officials in Arkansas' most populous county and one of its most popular tourist destinations are considering prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, expanding the pushback against a new state law criticized as anti-gay.

A member of the Hot Springs city board said Tuesday she's proposing prohibiting the city and its vendors from discriminating against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. A member of Pulaski County's quorum court said he's drafting a similar anti-discrimination ordinance.